Get out of that ICU bed and move!

It turns out that exercise is good for you no matter how sick you are. And maybe good for the country.

The small study was of 57 intensive care unit patients at Johns Hopkins Hospital who had been on mechanical ventilators for four days. Those who worked with physical therapists, even doing very small exercises moving their arms and legs, used fewer sedatives and had greater alertness and reduced delirium.

They also reduced their ICU stays by 2 days and their hospital visits by 3 days. That means more time to recover at home, less expense, and less exposure to the dreaded MRSA.